U.S. Fulbright Archives - Page 24 of 72 - Fulbright Student Program Blog

Ghosts, Bats, and an Environmentally Friendly Monster: Holidays in Vietnam

March 23, 2016

Hilary Ross, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Vietnam, 2014-2015 (right), and one of her English Speaking Club co-organizers celebrate a successful Halloween event

In 2011, a fortune-teller in a smoky, incense-scented room in Vietnam predicted that I would be the only student in my study abroad group to return to Vietnam. At the end of the five months, I also knew that I wanted to return to this complex Southeast Asian country. Assistant English teaching through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistants Program seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn more about Vietnamese culture and Vietnam’s relationship with the United States and give back to communities who had welcomed me. I don’t generally believe in the supernatural, but a little over three years later, it turns out the fortune-teller was right.

As I wrote my application, I focused on how to express that I was the right person for this role – a meld of teacher, cultural ambassador, mentor, and friend. My grandparents and parents have all lived and worked internationally. Their openness to and interest in meeting people from all over the world inspired me to move far outside my comfort zone. I’ve learned that when I consciously and positively engage with the world, my connections deepen, and a global community is strengthened. Fulbright has given me the opportunity to do this by connecting and learning from the brightest students and teachers in Vietnam.

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Enrichment U.S. Fulbright

Un-framing Appalachia

March 15, 2016

Reflections in and about Williamson. Photo by Anna Reich

What is Williamson, West Virginia?

I don’t believe it is possible to define a town, much less a town I met only 36 hours ago.

I arrived in Charleston’s Yeager Airport shortly after noon on Sunday. The hotel offered a complimentary shuttle from the airport with a most amicable driver. While chatting about various things West Virginia, such as my childhood obsession with the Sacramento Kings and specifically West Virginia’s own Jason Williams, the driver asked the purpose of my visit. I explained the Fulbright – Amizade collaboration with Sustainable Williamson, the idea of global service learning, and some additional background on the Fulbright Program. He asked me to clarify where I would be going.

“Williamson?” he said, “that town is so poor they have a layaway program at the dollar store.”

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright U.S. Fulbright

Meet the Fulbright Amizade Participants!

March 11, 2016

top_banner_email In March 2016, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will sponsor six Fulbright Foreign Student Program students, along with six Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumni to participate in a week-long service-learning program in Williamson, WV led by Amizade Global Service-Learning which empowers individuals and communities through worldwide volunteering.

During their week-long program in Williamson, Fulbrighters will participate in service activities and learning about the town and its history. Williamson is a small rural coal-mining town in Mingo County (WV) that once was home to 10,000 residents and a thriving coal economy in the mid-20th century. However, in recent years, Williamson has experienced a collapsed coal mining industry, a series of devastating floods, and de-population. Now a population of 3,000, community members have joined together to create Sustainable Williamson, the local organization with whom Fulbright students and alumni will be working. Sustainable Williamson is a small team of community organizations that work together to increase access to fresh foods, initiate active living programs, and teach healthy living styles. Throughout the week, the Fulbrighters will be sharing in, and learning how, community members are pioneering and engaging in thoughtful work in order to maintain their cultural framework while also creating a realm of new opportunities.

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U.S. Fulbright

Fulbright: The Grant That Keeps on Giving

March 9, 2016

Sarah Sanderson Doyle, 2012-2014, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Brazil, with her husband in Rio de Janeiro

In 2011, my husband and I were ecstatic to find out that I was selected as one of thirty Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) to Brazil for the 2012-2013 academic year. We spent an incredible ten months in Ilhéus, Bahía, teaching English, giving cultural presentations and volunteering in the community. I was even more excited to learn that I was chosen to be one of ten Fulbrighters asked to return to Brazil the following year to serve as mentors as the Brazilian Fulbright ETA program expanded from thirty to one hundred and twenty grantees. We were relocated to the north of the country and spent another challenging and fascinating ten months in Belém, Pará, right at the edge of the Amazon.

Though I have plenty of stories and experiences to share about my time as a Fulbright ETA, what I would like to highlight are the amazing opportunities that I’ve had because of my Fulbright experience, along with how valuable it is to stay connected to the U.S. Department of State’s and the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) alumni communities after the grant period ends. Some of the many advantages include having stories to share in interviews and applications, increased chances for professional development and volunteering, networking and internships.

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U.S. Fulbright

Have You Seen Our Fulbright Top Producer Storify?

March 3, 2016

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U.S. Fulbright

The Land of the Unexpected

March 1, 2016

Peter Pellitier, 2014-2015, Papua New Guinea (left), poses for a picture with young friend while studying coral reef resilience in Kavieng, Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, the much too accurate national slogan is “the land of the unexpected.” Every morning, I awoke assured that my day would be far from boring, simple or easy. Encountering sharks, witnessing assistants maimed by venomous fish, and dealing with missing boats are just a few of the research challenges I faced while working abroad as a Fulbright U.S. Student in Kavieng, Papua New Guinea.

Working in the exquisitely bio-diverse land and seas of Papua New Guinea, the Fulbright Program provided me with the adventure and cultural experience of a lifetime. Swarms of fish flashing over the obtuse angles of coral 35 feet below the turquoise surface of the Coral Sea will forever be burned into my memory. The country is truly a biologist’s playground.

My research examined the ecological drivers of coral reef resilience to climate change, especially the functional role of Parrotfish in the reef ecosystem. A significant amount of my Fulbright project was spent diving and collecting data in the remote islands of New Ireland Province to understand this phenomenon. Some Parrotfish eat algae that can smother the reef, while others eat the coral itself. All functions are thought to be critical for coral “rejuvenation.” Understanding how Parrotfish and the reef interact is critical amid the two-pronged threat of ocean acidification and warming ocean temperatures that endanger coral reefs.

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